Werewolves, Rock&Roll, and Shaolin
by Tenhawk
Summary: Oz leaves town after the Verrucca incident, This is the story of his quest. A quest for control over his inner beast.


Title : Werewolves, Rock'n Roll, and Shaolin... Oh My. Author : Tenhawk  
  
Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners... none of which are me. If they knew what they were doing I wouldn't have to write this stuff.  
  
Summary: Oz leaves Sunnydale after the Verucca incident in search of a way to control his inner wolf.  
  
Warning : Crossovers ahead. (Yes Plural.)  
  
Rating : PG-13 to PG-16; for mild cursing, violence, and demonic horror content... in other words a bit more grown up then the series... but only cause I don't have to suck up to censors.  
  
Werewolves, Rock 'n Roll, and Shaolin... Oh My.  
  
Oz shivered as he turned the van out of Sunnydale. It wasn't cold, but he felt like he was leaving part of himself behind. Part of his life, part of his soul.  
  
He shook the feeling off and put the accelerator down, trying to put som distance between himself and the hellmouth. It was funny actually, he hadn't ever considered leaving for long before. Even in his dreams of music stardom he hadn't thought much beyond Sunnydale, and now he was pushing his old van hard in an attempt to put as much distance between him and the little town of horrors as he could.  
  
Willow. And that was it, he thought. The big 'it'. He had to get as far away from her as possible before one of two things happened.  
  
First he might hurt her again. Maybe worse. And second... if he didn't get away, and fast... he wouldn't be able to leave her. Ever.  
  
Oz stayed characteristically silent as he drove, something that wouldn't have been unusual even if there had been someone aboard for him to talk to.  
  
You are now leaving Sunnydale.  
  
He didn't spare the sign a glance as he roared past it out of town. He kept his mind on the task. Before he had left he had spoken with Giles, his only real connection to the magical community, and gotten alead on someone who might be able to help.  
  
Unfortunately it meant a long drive. A very long drive.  
  
Oz sighed and turned the Van North East.  
  
***** Chicago, The Blackout  
  
It was just after noon when Oz pulled the van into the lot and looked around. A slight bang from the engine of the van was enough to tell him that it wasn't going to last much longer. A few days, a couple hundred miles, Oz shrugged the thought off and looked at the building in front of him.  
  
The sign said closed, but his friend Devon said that there was usually someone inside this time of day. He got out, and walked over to the building.  
  
He opened the door and went in, inside he looked around calmly.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
No answer immediately. He waited.  
  
A short moment later a woman came out, "Yes? Can I help you?"  
  
"I was told that you might be looking for musicians?"  
  
The woman looked at him skeptically, she got all types in here. "What can you do?"  
  
"Guitar."  
  
She nodded, "Tell you what, get your gear and come back in a couple hours. I have a friend who handles that stuff now."  
  
"Cool." Oz nodded and turned away.  
  
She watched as he left, then shook her head. Musicians. They're all nuts.  
  
*****  
  
Oz didn't bother leaving the parking lot. He didn't have anywhere to go. He unrolled a sleeping bag and curled up in the back.  
  
He tried not to think about the audition, even though he sorely needed the cash. Worrying wasn't something he did. It didn't help anything anyway, so he closed his eyes and visualized giving the performance of his life in a couple hours.  
  
He was asleep in a few moments, soothing tunes echoing through his mind as dreams took his mind.  
  
***** Oz jumped. Or he tried to, but was seriously hampered by the fact that he was wrapped up in a sleeping bag at the time. He actually snarled slightly before he woke up completely and stopped struggling against the confining material.  
  
Then he lay very quiet, listening for what had caused him to awaken.  
  
There... He tensed. It was a sound he had become familiar with over the last few months. A fight.  
  
He slipped out of the sleeping bag and crept to the front of the van. Outside he could clearly see the combatants.  
  
*****  
  
"You're a real sick fuck, you know that!?"  
  
The intended victim of the insult shrugged it off. He had heard worse.  
  
The four gang members didn't like being ignored.  
  
"Hey! Dumb Fuck!" The leader grabbed the smaller man by his shoulder and spun him around. "I ain't finished with you!"  
  
The man looked at them calmly, almost eerily calm. "Don't touch me."  
  
"Why? What cha gonna do about it?"  
  
The man smiled, "I'll get mad. You won't like me mad."  
  
The three gang bangers laughed, and the leader mocked shivered. "You're scaring me man..."  
  
The man smiled.  
  
Two of the gang bangers did look a little nervous, the punk wasn't supposed to be so calm. He was supposed to be shaking.  
  
The leader, on the other hand, hadn't noticed. "You're real sick, man. Dressing up like a dead rocker, even getting your face changed... that's real sick!"  
  
Eric Draven shrugged.  
  
The gang leader growled, incensed at how little affect his words were having. He charged at Draven.  
  
***** Oz paused in mid step. He had decided to step in and try to even things out, but as soon as he got within a dozen steps he knew something was wrong. The smell was off.  
  
Not human. Was the automatic conclusion his wolf side told him. He could feel the hackles rising on the back of his neck. Almost as bad as when he caught the smell of a vampire.  
  
Picking out the source took another few seconds, and by that time it was obvious.  
  
*****  
  
Draven sidestepped, and chopped the banger across the back of the neck. He dropped like a ton of bricks and didn't even try to get up.  
  
Draven was relieved. He didn't want to change. didn't want to bring... it... out. He was turning back to the other two when he staggered under a blow from behind.  
  
*****  
  
Oz growled low in his throat. The two remaining bangers had attacked from behind, he didn't like that. He surged forward to help the victim, even though his wolf side growled to let it go.  
  
He got halfway there when things changed again.  
  
*****  
  
The Crow came up fast, spinning as his foot flashed out in a blinding kick that swept the feet from under both bangers. He slowly rose to his feet, his face white and black in its eerie mockery of a clown's makeup.  
  
"I told you... you wouldn't like me... mad."  
  
The two bangers on the ground scrambled back, "Stay away from us you... you freak!"  
  
"Freaks of the world... unite." The Crow smiled as he stalked closer to the two terrified bangers. He paused in mild surprise as someone stepped between them.  
  
He looked the boy over. Young. Calm. Too Calm. As if he knew something.  
  
The Crow tilted his head in curiosity, looking at the boy. "And you are?"  
  
*****  
  
"And you are?"  
  
Oz shrugged. "Oz." *****  
  
Draven laughed, "As in the wizard of?"  
  
The boy seemed to smile slightly, but he couldn't tell for certain. "Something like that."  
  
"Get out of my way."  
  
The boy shook his head. "Not gonna happen."  
  
The Crow wanted to take the kid down, but Draven was curious. "Why?"  
  
The kid glanced over his shoulder to where the two bangers were scrambling away and shrugged, "Don't want you to hurt 'em. You scared em enough."  
  
Draven chuckled. The Crow was melting away. "I wasn't going to injure them permanently."  
  
"Good."  
  
Draven shook his head, his long black hair falling across his face. When he lifted his face again, the mask of the Crow was gone and only he remained.  
  
"The name's Draven," Eric held out his hand, "Eric Draven."  
  
*****  
  
"The name's Draven, Eric Draven."  
  
Oz raised an eyebrow, but accepted the hand. "I've heard of you."  
  
Draven nodded.  
  
"You're dead."  
  
Eric smiled. "I am."  
  
Oz nodded. Dead. That explained the smell. Not a vampire though... 'game face' is different.  
  
Oz considered it briefly, but decided that he was hardly one to judge someone else on their... unique problems."Cool."  
  
*****  
  
Blackout  
  
"I see you two have already met."  
  
Draven and Oz looked at each other on confusion.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"What?"  
  
She looked at them in confusion, "Eric, this is the guy I want you to audition."  
  
Eric looked over at Oz, "You're a musician?"  
  
Oz nodded.  
  
"Let's see your stuff." Eric smiled.  
  
Oz looked at him, "You bet."  
  
*****  
  
Eric and Tracy nodded, smiling as the tunes from the stage quavered through the room.  
  
"He's pretty good."  
  
Draven nodded. "Not bad."  
  
Tracy just raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply.  
  
Oz ran through her repertoire, his hands sliding over the strings as the music flowed through him. Inwardly he was reveling in the vibrations, his mind screaming to the tune he was belting out. Outwardly he may as well have been reading the phone book.  
  
"SO what do you think?"  
  
Draven didn't answer right away. When he did he spoke slowly. "There's something off about this guy..."  
  
Tracy raised her eyebrow lightly, "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Nothing." Draven said, "Give him the gig. He's good enough... I'll keep an eye on him."  
  
Tracy shrugged and nodded, "Alright."  
  
She got up and walked over to the stage, "Hey, Oz!"  
  
Oz lowered the guitar, the fading chords echoing off the walls around him. "Yeah?"  
  
"You got the gig. How long are you in town?"  
  
Oz shrugged, "Couple weeks?"  
  
She nodded, "Fine. Be back tonight, we'll start you out at eight."  
  
Oz nodded. "Cool. Thanks."  
  
*****  
  
That Night The Blackout  
  
Oz wrapped up the set, and suppressed the urge to grin like a maniac as the crowd applauded him. It was addictive, the cheers and the claps. Then he suddenly lost the urge to smile.  
  
It didn't mean anything without someone to share it with. Or, at least, it didn't mean as much.  
  
Willow.  
  
"Oz?"  
  
He turned around to see Eric looking at him oddly.  
  
"You ok?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You looked a million miles away for a moment."  
  
Oz shook his head, "Only a couple thousand."  
  
Eric stared at him intently, "Someone?"  
  
Oz nodded.  
  
"I know how that goes."  
  
The two young men looked at each other, a feeling of melancholy almost tangible between them. A feeling completely at odds with the laughing and cheering that was coming from the nightclub around them.  
  
Finally Eric broke the silence, "Look, man. You did a good job tonight. Head out, relax. I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
Oz nodded. "Thanks."  
  
"No prob."  
  
*****  
  
Oz stepped out of the Blackout and paused to stretch and take a deep breath. He paused in mid breath and looked around. He sniffed the air a couple times, uncertainly looking around. Then he walked slowly toward the alley behind the club.  
  
*****  
  
Draven frowned. He wasn't sure what was going on, but Oz was up to something. He sank into the shadows and followed the young musician as he walked behind the club. What are you up to?  
  
*****  
  
There were two of them.  
  
Vampires.  
  
Thank god. Oz thought to himself, if there had been more then he would be in pretty deep trouble. Well, their victims would have been anyway. His own healing abilities would probably keep him alive, though he'd never tested them to that extreme before. Still, only two... He should be able to handle it.  
  
Oz' hands dipped under his coat and he drew out a stake and cross. Lessons learned on the Hellmouth died hard, and he never played a gig anymore without being prepared for the worst.  
  
*****  
  
What the hell? Draven followed the musician slowly, still not sure what he was seeing.  
  
Oz seemed to be sneaking up on a pair of toughs that were roughing up some poor clubber. No... make that two clubbers. Guy and his girl. Almost missed her.  
  
Eric blinked when Oz pulled a pair of somthings from his pocket, but couldn't get a good look at them until the musician half turned to look around. Was that a cross?  
  
*****  
  
"Back off." The man's voice was firm, he was used to dealing with trouble. The two looming figures just laughed. They weren't impressed.  
  
"Don't be like that, Pal." One of them said mockingly as he leered at the guy's date. "We just want a... taste."  
  
The man interposed himself between the two and his girl. "I said back off. Now."  
  
The second vampire nudged his friend, "Oooh, we got ourselves a tough guy."  
  
The first nodded, and slammed his fist into an open hand. "Yeah. You remember what we did to the last tough guy?"  
  
The second laughed openly. "*I* Was the last tough guy."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
The two vamped out and stalked closer to their victims.  
  
The girl's scream covered over the guy's curse as the two powerful figures grappled with him and pulled him to the ground.  
  
*****  
  
Stealth time is over. Oz thought to himself as he threw himself at the two vampires. One shot free... that's all I've got.  
  
He made the most of it, driving the wooden stake through the back of the largest vampire. Unfortunately the thing twisted away from the source of pain before it dusted, ripping the stake from Oz' hands. Oz groaned as the wooden implement was rendered into dust by the vampires death.  
  
"Great."  
  
The other vampire jerked away from it's victim and stared at the small guitarist in shock. "You killed Freddie."  
  
Oz shrugged, "Guess so."  
  
"You're gonna pay for that."  
  
"Maybe."  
  
The Vampire charged him.  
  
***** Draven rushed forward, reacting fast as he tried to process what he was seeing. What happened to that guy!?  
  
As the second guy charged the young guitarist, Draven saw Oz lift his left hand and put it between himself and the... What the hell is that!?  
  
*****  
  
"Ahhh!" The vampire recoiled form the cross. "Get that thing out of my face!"  
  
"Ummm..." Oz seemed to consider, "no."  
  
Oz moved around quickly, getting between the vampire and the two cowering victims. "You ok?"  
  
The guy was groggy, definitely out of it. The girl was hysterical, holding her boyfriend tight and rocking him. Neither answered. Oz didn't force the issue, he turned his attention back to the vampire.  
  
"Back off." Oz repeated the warning the victim had given the vampire earlier.  
  
"Ohhh..." The vampire mock shook. "I'm shaking in my boots. You got nothing more original?"  
  
Oz shrugged, "Witty banter isn't my department."  
  
Then Oz's eyes widened in surprise as he looked behind the vampire.  
  
*****  
  
"Witty banter isn't my department."  
  
Eric dropped from a fire escape behind the... thing... that Oz was facing. His face white as a ghost. "Mind if I give it a try?"  
  
Oz shrugged, "be my guest."  
  
The Vampire turned in shock, "What the hell are you?"  
  
"Hell? You want hell? I'll show you hell."  
  
The vampire stumbled back as the white faced form approached. Slowly. Resolutely. Implacably. And, deep in what passed for the vampire's Soul, a shiver of fear was born as some ancient instinct was awakened.  
  
*****  
  
The Vampire backed away from the white faced freak that stalked toward him, moving on an angle away from the cross held by the young man behind him. When his back hit the wall his sudden irrational terror converted to rage and, like a cornered rat, he snarled and charged.  
  
His motion took Draven by surprise, and the vampire managed tag him solidly across the jaw and drag him to the ground. Eric was surprised by the speed and strength of the creature, it was almost as fast as he was, and stronger by far.  
  
The two of them sprawled to the ground and the vampire snarled again and buried his teeth into the Crow's neck.  
  
*****  
  
Oz surged forward when he saw the vamp sink it's teeth into Eric, held the wooden cross like a stake and prepared to drive it into the thing's back when, suddenly, the vampire jumped up in shock and spit on the ground.  
  
A black dust was drifting from it's mouth.  
  
"What in the holy hell are you!?" The vampire glared at the Crow in outrage.  
  
Draven seemed to float to his feet, a dancers grace enveloping his every movement. "I am your death. I am your judgement."  
  
The vampire backed away, still spitting out black dust. "Stay away from me you freak!"  
  
Eric strode confidently toward the thing. The vampire, he now knew. His mind still flashed on the horrors he saw when the thing sank its teeth into him. "From one freak to another... have I got a gift for you."  
  
The Crow lunged forward, his hands outstretched. Before the vampire could react the Crow had locked his hands around the creatures head and was staring into it's eyes.  
  
"Pain." Draven said, "Such a sweet justice it can be. Here is the pain, the fear, the sheer combined terror of all your victims. Enjoy."  
  
The vampire screamed in terror as it was overwhelmed by a sudden deluge of agony and terror. Images, sensations, feelings, and thoughts poured into his mind as the white faced monster continued to glare into his eyes.  
  
"NOOOOO!"  
  
The Vampire's legs gave out, it dropped to its knees in anguish. It looked up at the Crow. "Kill me."  
  
Draven shook his head. "That is not my place."  
  
The vampire watched in desperation as the figure pivoted on its heel and swept away.  
  
It continued to watch for a few seconds until the pain pushed to move again. It staggered to a wooden box that was lying in the ally. One sweep of its feet and it had a jagged stake. It closed its eyes, dropped to it's knees, and screamed as it drove the jagged piece of wood into it's own heart.  
  
The scream was cut of as a column of dust slowly drifted to the ground.  
  
*****  
  
Oz stared in shock as the vampire actually dusted itself. "What did you do to him?"  
  
Eric, or whatever he was when his face shifted, stared at him with a serious expression, "I gave him what he gave others. Terror. Pain. Hopelessness. He did the rest himself."  
  
"Huh." Oz swallowed.  
  
The thing that was Eric Draven turned and flowed away from him. The he stopped, and when he looked back it was Eric again. "Oz?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You have a place to stay?"  
  
"Van."  
  
Eric nodded, "I've got a loft... it's not much, I don't need much anymore... but if you like?"  
  
Oz was about to refuse, but something about the request sounded... more like an imperative. So he nodded, "Thanks."  
  
*****  
  
Draven's Loft  
  
Oz looked around. He'd seen worse, even lived in worse while on the road. But not much worse. The Loft itself was excellent material. Hardwood floors, beautiful architecture, the whole nine yards. The central window should have been the crowning touch, but instead it was a crown of thorns that accented the wreck the place had become.  
  
Draven noticed Oz' look and shrugged, "Like I said, I don't need much of anything anymore."  
  
Oz nodded, "being dead will do that."  
  
Draven looked at him, "You accepted that easily."  
  
"Vampires."  
  
Draven nodded, "True. But I'm not a vampire."  
  
"Seen weirder."  
  
Draven raised an eyebrow, "Really?"  
  
Oz nodded.  
  
"Such as?"  
  
"Demons. Witches. Robots." Oz shrugged, "The usual."  
  
Draven snorted, "Usual? Your life sounds weirder then mine."  
  
"I've got my own... problems."  
  
Draven nodded again. "I know. I can feel it. But I can't figure out what it is about that sets me off."  
  
Oz walked over to the large circular window and looked up at the new moon. He took a deep breath. "You see that?"  
  
"What? The moon?"  
  
Oz nodded. "You enjoy the sight of a full moon?"  
  
Draven was silent for a moment, "Me... Me and Shelly used to have picnics under the full moon. Romantic, she used to say."  
  
"I guess." Oz said noncommittaly. "I never see them anymore."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Got bit by a werewolf."  
  
That actually floored Draven. "Whoa."  
  
Oz just nodded.  
  
"What happened?" Eric asked, "You get attacked in the woods or something?"  
  
Oz curled up his lips slightly, "Cousin."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Baby cousin... bit me while I was holding him."  
  
Draven looked at the young musician for a second. "Your kidding, right?"  
  
Oz shrugged.  
  
Draven chuckled, "That sucks."  
  
Oz looked up at the moon again, "I learned to deal."  
  
"No, man." Draven corrected, "Not the werewolf thing. I mean the way you got it... you can't even use it as a cool 'war story'."  
  
Oz smiled, and shook his head. "You have a warped sense of humor, you know that?"  
  
Draven shrugged. "I'm dead, so shoot me."  
  
"Would it do me any good?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Didn't think so."  
  
"Might make you feel better."  
  
Oz smiled, "Nah."  
  
The two men looked at each other and smiled. Then they looked out the circular window and their smiles grew sad. Each for their own reasons.  
  
Finally Draven looked back at his houseguest. "There's a bed in the room over there... It's yours."  
  
"What about you?"  
  
Eric looked at the large window. "I... stay out here."  
  
*****  
  
Oz got up slowly, the morning light pouring in form the single window positioned high above the bed. It hadn't been the worse night sleep he had ever had, but he wasn't exactly in the Waldorf.  
  
The room looked better by daylight though, or at least less... spooky. Now it simply looked dilapidated.  
  
He got dressed quickly and stepped out into the main loft.  
  
"Hey." Draven said from where he was crouched by the large circular window.  
  
"Hey." Oz returned.  
  
"Sleep well?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Good."  
  
A silence ensued. It wasn't uncomfortable, it wasn't stressed, it simply was. Niether men felt the need to break it so it stretched on for seconds, then minutes.  
  
It was broken before it reached a half hour by a thumping at the door.  
  
"Draven! I know you're in there, open up!"  
  
Oz raised an eyebrow, "Friend?"  
  
Draven shrugged, "Cop."  
  
Oz didn't bother to respond.  
  
Draven went over to the door and unlocked it, "Come on in, Albrect."  
  
The black detective stepped inside, "Eric, we need to..." He stopped as he noticed Oz. "Who's your friend?"  
  
"Oz."  
  
"He... uh... like you?"  
  
Draven shrugged, "Yeah... he's a musician too."  
  
Albrect shook his head, "No... I uh... mean the bird thing."  
  
Eric widened his eyes, "Oh *that*..."  
  
A silence ensued.  
  
"Well?" The black detective finally prodded.  
  
"No. He's not like me in that way."  
  
"He know the score?"  
  
Eric nodded and walked back to Oz. "Oz, Detective Albrect. Albrect, Oz."  
  
Oz nodded, "Nice to meet you."  
  
"Yeah... same." Albrect turned back to Eric, "Look... I've got a problem..."  
  
Eric looked at him, "I don't work for the cops, Albrect. You know that."  
  
"Yeah yeah, I know. But I'm thinking that this may be right up your alley."  
  
"I'm listening."  
  
Albrect grabbed a chair from the far wall and drug it into the center of the room. He sat down on it backwards and motioned for the other two to make themselves comfortable. Oz dropped into a sofa that was against the closest wall, and Eric just leaned against a beam.  
  
Albrect nodded and began, "Look... since you, well, came back from the dead... I've been looking into the weird case files. I've found some really strange stuff."  
  
"Like?"  
  
"Like graves being dug up hours after the bodies were planted, cadavers vanishing from morgues, that kind of stuff."  
  
Eric and Oz shared a knowing look.  
  
"And the really weird thing," Albrect continued, "Is the way I got this stuff."  
  
"What do you mean?" Eric asked.  
  
"I had to go to the sources. I talked with coroners, undertakers, doctors... but none of their stories made it into the reports... and these people swore up and down that they made formal reports." Oz nodded from where he sat and Albrect noticed the motion. "You know something, kid?"  
  
Oz shrugged, "You won't believe me."  
  
Albrect snorted. "Try me."  
  
"Vampires."  
  
A long silence.  
  
"What!?"  
  
"Vampires."  
  
Albrect looked back at Draven. "Please tell me that this guy is high or something?"  
  
Draven smiled, "Sorry. Ran into a couple last night... nasty little things, one of em took a bight out of me."  
  
"You ok?" The detective looked actually concerned.  
  
Draven nodded. "Yeah, turns out they don't like dead blood."  
  
Albrect was silent for a while. "That still doesn't explain why the reports weren't getting filed."  
  
Oz shrugged, "They bought someone on the force... maybe more then one."  
  
"Oh come on!" Albrect objected, "You're telling me that the Chicago PD has cops who work for Vampires?"  
  
Oz shrugged, "Seen it before."  
  
"Great. Just fucking fabulous!" Albrect swore, "How the hell am I supposed to see this to the DA?"  
  
Oz smiled, "Know the feeling, man."  
  
Albrect stood up and started pacing. "Jesus..." He glared at Draven, "Nothing's been the same since you came back, you know that!?"  
  
Eric shrugged, "Sorry... not exactly my idea."  
  
Albrect swore again and kept pacing. "What the hell am I supposed to do about this?"  
  
Oz shrugged again, "Not much." "What?"  
  
"What can you do?" Oz asked calmly, "Not a whole lot. Like you said, the authorities won't believe you."  
  
Albrect shook his head in frustration, "I can't stand by and do nothing."  
  
"Welcome to the club."  
  
"What are you talking about?" he rounded on Oz.  
  
Oz remained unperturbed. "Been there. Done that. Got the T-Shirt. Been hunting vampires for over two years."  
  
Albrect looked at him in shock, "You?"  
  
"And some friends."  
  
The detective blinked. "Friends?"  
  
"High school buds... and my girlfriend."  
  
"High school....?" Albrect trailed off, "You have got to be kidding me. A bunch of highschool brats hunting vampires?"  
  
"Save the world a couple times too." Oz shrugged.  
  
"What!?"  
  
"Occupational hazard."  
  
Albrect gave up and stepped back. He glanced at Draven, "Here I thought you were as weird as they come."  
  
Eric smiled, "Guess I'll have to try harder next time."  
  
Albrect shook his head and lifted his hands in supplication. "Spare me. Look, I've got to go... and think this through. I'll see you later."  
  
The detective left the room rapidly and closed the door behind him.  
  
Eric looked after the retreating cop. "I've never been able to get rid of him that fast."  
  
Oz shrugged. "It's a gift."  
  
*****  
  
Blackout  
  
Oz was wrapping up a set when he saw a slim woman with dark hair approach Draven. Something about her set off his wolf side a lot like Draven did. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck climbing with every step she took.  
  
Oz wrapped the number and waved lightly to the crowd as he stepped down off the stage. Behind him the next performer moved into place and in an instant the low rhythm and bass were shaking the club again. He walked over toward Draven, who was watching him approach with a slightly impatient look on his face.  
  
"What's up?"  
  
Draven shifted as he glanced over at the dark haired woman, "A friend of mine ran into some trouble she'd like a hand with... I'm leaving early tonight."  
  
Oz nodded, "Need a hand?"  
  
Draven shook his head, "I doubt it..."  
  
Oz shrugged, "I'm done for the night anyway... besides, believe it or not I'm starting to miss my nightly dose of life risking."  
  
Draven looked at the young guitarist, trying to figure out if he was joking or not. It didn't help that he delivered the line like he was reading a page from the phonebook. Finally he shrugged, "Suit yourself."  
  
Oz nodded and stepped into line behind Draven as the taller man walked out of the club.  
  
*****  
  
"Who's the meat bag?"  
  
Draven didn't bother to react, "Hannah, this is Oz. Oz, Hannah."  
  
"Hey." Oz said calmly.  
  
"What's he doing here, Draven?" She asked, ignoring Oz completely.  
  
"He's a friend." Draven said simply, "What's the deal?"  
  
Hannah frowned for a moment, glaring at Oz, then shrugged. "I was following the police reports lately. There's been a kidnapping." Draven nodded, he knew that Hannah had a thing for kidnappers. "Why do you need me?"  
  
"I don't." She said, "I need that cop you have in your back pocket."  
  
Draven rolled his eyes, "Don't say something like that in front of Darrel... He'll find a way to kill me."  
  
She smirked, "So?"  
  
Eric sighed, "let's get moving."  
  
Oz nodded, "Van?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
The three got into Oz's van and drove off, Eric dialing Albrect's number as they did.  
  
*****  
  
Later  
  
"Jesus, Draven," Albrect cursed, "I can't keep doing this."  
  
"Just hand it over, Darrell." Draven said, extending his hand and taking the clear plastic bag from the detective. He tossed it back to where Hannah was leaning against the side of the van, looking bored.  
  
"About time." She muttered and started digging though the evidence bag. She started pulling out one thing after another, dropping them to the ground after a moments concentration.  
  
"Oh! Hey!" Albrect protested, "Don't do that!"  
  
Oz winced slightly and began retrieving items from around her feet. When they stopped falling he looked up at her, and was surprised to see that her eyes had focused on something that seemed far off.  
  
"What's with that?"  
  
Eric looked at her, "She's tuned into something."  
  
"Cool."  
  
"Yeah right." Albrect muttered, grabbing the rest of the stuff back from Oz... "Damn it... what am I supposed to do about prints now?"  
  
Hannah smiled evilly, her white mask taken over her face. "Forget it. You won't be needing it after tonight."  
  
Then she turned and walked away.  
  
"Hey... whoa, now, wait a second!" Darrell followed, protesting, "What do you mean by that?"  
  
Eric put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry. I'll keep things under control."  
  
"Oh, that makes me feel so much better!" Albrect muttered, "You can't keep yourself under control, Eric!"  
  
Oz shrugged, "I'm going with them..."  
  
"You!?" Darrell looked at him in shock, "I don't even know you! But if you're hanging around with these two then I'm sure I don't want to!"  
  
Oz hopped into the drivers side, "I'm hurt."  
  
Eric smiled, "Albrect never learned to play nice in kindergarten... he was too busy trying to lock the other kids up in the play pen."  
  
Oz started the car, "Where to?"  
  
Hannah poked her head in between them, "Abandoned building at 48th and Sound."  
  
"Cool."  
  
Oz backed the van out, leaving Albrect staring after the receding van, "I'm gonna lose my badge again... I just know it."  
  
*****  
  
Abandoned building, 48th and Sound  
  
"So, what now?"  
  
Hannah looked up at the building and snarled, "Now I bust some heads."  
  
She slammed open the back doors and vanished out the back.  
  
Oz and Draven looked at each other. "Some girlfriend you have there."  
  
Eric shook his head, "Not mine. You want her, she's yours."  
  
Oz smiled, "Nah. I got a girl..." Then he was silent for a bit, "Or I did until some stuff happened..."  
  
Eric looked at him, "Tell me about it later, man. We better get up there before she kills someone."  
  
Oz nodded, "Lead on, Mr Mime."  
  
Draven shot him a dirty look, "Like I've never heard that one before."  
  
"I've never said that one before," Oz responded, "So its new enough for me."  
  
Draven sighed, "let's go."  
  
*****  
  
"When's the buyer getting here?"  
  
Fred looked up from his cards, "Relax Billy. He'll be here."  
  
"Hey man," Billy looked around, "This is some deep shit man... I didn't plan on getting into this stuff..."  
  
"Billy, Billy, Billy, Relax. It's just business. There's a market and we're filling the supply side of it."  
  
"You're talking about selling a kid, man... this is really out there."  
  
"I know guy's who do it every day." Fred said confidently, "Come on man, think of what you can do with the cash..."  
  
Billy started to calm down, "Yeah... yeah. Man, I could really use that dough."  
  
"See?" Billy smiled, "Check on the package."  
  
"Ok, Billy."  
  
Fred when to a side room and checked on the 'package', a small blong girl about four years old. She was sitting in the corner of the darkened room, huddled up and staring at the door. The light reflected off her tear stained cheeks when Billy opened the door.  
  
"Daddy?" her voice wafted plaintively through the air.  
  
Billy shut the door on her.  
  
"She's alright, man. We gonna clean her up before the guy gets here?"  
  
"Naw," Fred said, "he has some people who do all that shit... the get a better price after they fix em all up I hear."  
  
"Wow."  
  
At that point a dark voice echoed the last statement with a questioning twist. "Wow?"  
  
Billy jumped into the air, looking around. "What the hell?"  
  
"Hell indeed." A white faced flipped down from the rafters, grinning into his face from its perch as it hung upside down a few inches from him.  
  
"Shit!" Billy screamed and jumped back.  
  
Fred pulled a gun, "What the fuck!?"  
  
Talon dropped from the rafters of the old building and grinned evilly at the two kidappers. "A child is a sacred thing, one that you have defiled..."  
  
"She's a fucking wacko!"  
  
Fred snorted, "You think I don't see that?"  
  
He reaised his pistol and pointed it at the white faced woman, "Don't know where you came from you crazy bitch, but I'm not gonna worry about it for long."  
  
She kept grinning and walked toward him, her hands outstretched.  
  
He opened fire.  
  
Bullet after bullet shook Talon's small frame, knocking her back a step here and there, but she kept coming. As she got closer Fred could see the bullet holes healing up under her ruined shirt.  
  
"Oh shit..." he whispered, "What the fuck are you?"  
  
"A mother." She whispered as she grabbed his hand and twisted it around until a loud cracking sound was heard through the room.  
  
"Aaaaah!" He screamed in pain and fell to his knees, cradling his broken hand.  
  
"How about your neck next?"  
  
"Talon!" She looked back to where Draven was standing. "Relax Birdy Boy. I'm not gonna kill him... but I'll make him wish I had."  
  
Oz stepped into the room, holding the young girl in his arms. "Hannah." He said softly.  
  
She looked back at him and saw his serious expression as he shook his head. Finally she shook her head in disgust. "Alright... But he's not getting out of here scot free."  
  
"Never said he was." Draven said, reaching across and taking a small charm from the girls wrist. "Can I borrow this?"  
  
The young child looked up at the smiling face and nodded, her lips pouting as she tried not to cry.  
  
"Thanks, kiddo." Draven took the charm and closed his eyes for a second. Then he tossed the charm to Talon.  
  
She caught it easily and felt the charge of fear and pain run through her as she was exposed to what the little girl had felt. She turned back to Fred and grinned, "Got a little present for you..." She said in a sing-song voice.  
  
She grabbed him by the head and felt the pain flow from her into him. The utter fear and helplessness felt by a four year old girl as two men grabbed her and stuffed her into a dank dark trunk, drove her across town, then held her for two days without light, without her parents, without anything but the monsters of a child's imagination to keep her company.  
  
The grown man began sobbing and curled up on the floor, his hand now just a minor pain.  
  
Billy stared at the scene in terror. "Wha... What did you do to Fred?"  
  
Talon turned around, a feral look in her face, "Don't worry, your turn is coming."  
  
Billy ran. He stumbled to his feet and ran for the door. Draven tripped him calmly as he past and he came to a skidding halt at a pair of dirty old sneakers. He looked up and say the young man holding the little girl.  
  
"Come on man... I didn't even want to do it! Don't let them do that to me man!"  
  
Oz crouched down, sheltering the young girls eyes by pushing her head gently into his shoulder. He looked at the man at his feet with an unreadable expression, then his eyes suddenly turned yellow and his features grew feral.  
  
"Tell you what," He said in a growling voice, "Take your chances with them... or me. I'm a little hungry tonight."  
  
Billy spun on his back, and started backpedaling away from the golden eyes he saw in front of him. "What the fuck? Man this can't be real! This can't be real!"  
  
Draven caught him, "You want real? Try this one for size."  
  
Draven poured the pain to the frightened man, leaving him in the same condition of his companion. Then he straitened up and looked around, "We should call Albrect, we can wait here until they show up."  
  
Oz nodded, and hefted the little girl again. "Come on, lil darlin," He drawled in a mock western slang, "Let's wait for the nice police to take you home to mommy and daddy... ok?"  
  
She nodded into his shoulder and held on tight.  
  
*****  
  
"Thanks Albrect," Draven said as Oz handed the little girl over to the detective.  
  
"No," Darrell nodded at the three of them, "Thanks for finding her. Her parents are going to be very happy."  
  
Talon barely glanced at Albrect, instead looking around impatiently. "Can you guys hurry the kissy kissy up? I have a buyer to track down."  
  
Draven hung his head and sighed, "Alright Hannah..."  
  
"Uh... What's she talking about?" Darrell asked.  
  
"They had a buyer for the little girl, it wasn't a ransom thing." Draven said, "Billy Bob over there started mumbling before you got here."  
  
"You get a name?"  
  
"No." Draven replied, "But Hannah pried a contact number out of the other one."  
  
"Well give it to me." Darrell said.  
  
"Uh uh." Hannah sat on the table swinging her legs, "These bastards are mine."  
  
Darrell looked between Draven and Hannah, "I don't think that's a good idea..."  
  
Draven shrugged, "She can shut them down faster then the police, Darrell... you know that."  
  
"I don't like it."  
  
Hannah finally hopped off the table and walked out of the room, brushing past Albrect, "I don't care."  
  
*****  
  
Oz was driving Draven and Foster back to the Blackout.  
  
"So, what's next?"  
  
Draven shrugged.  
  
Hannah looked around, "We find these guys."  
  
"How?"  
  
Hannah looked blank.  
  
Oz thought about smiling, then decided against it. Instead he just said flatly, "So maybe telling off the cop was a bad idea?"  
  
Draven smirked and Hannah glared at him. "What's your idea, smart ass?"  
  
Oz shrugged, "Anyone have a computer?"  
  
Draven looked up, "There one in the office at the Blackout."  
  
"Internet?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"Cool."  
  
*****  
  
Oz looked at the computer and slowly hen pecked an address into the computer with two fingers.  
  
"You sure you know what you're doing?"  
  
"Uh huh." He hit enter and waited the page to load.  
  
"What's this?"  
  
"Phone directory." Oz tapped in the number they had and hit enter again. An error came up.  
  
"This is a waste of time." Hannah muttered.  
  
Oz tapped in another command and hit enter. The page faded and was replaced by an address for the number.  
  
"What the?" Draven looked at it, "How'd you do that?"  
  
Oz shrugged, "I dated a hacker... she put a back door on that site months ago."  
  
"Cool." Grinned Hannah, "Let's go."  
  
*****  
  
Oz pulled the Van over in front of a crappy looking building.  
  
"What a rathole."  
  
Oz shrugged and glanced back at Hannah, "At least its not an abandoned warehouse."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Never mind." Oz shrugged.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
*****  
  
Remi Salz looked around the building and shuddered. He'd just gotten clear without being spotted by the cops. He finished leaving a message on the boss's machine and sat down. He had to get moving, he realised, That idiot, Fred, had his phone number. He could spill to the cops anytime.  
  
"I've got to get out of here..." He stood up, his voice filled with realization.  
  
"Too late." A dark echoed from the corner.  
  
He turned around in surprise, "who the fuck are you?"  
  
A woman with a white face walked almost seductively out of the shadows. "Someone who wants a word with your boss."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Remi drew a gun, "How's 'get fucked' for a word?"  
  
"Actually, I think that's two words." She said smiling as she walked toward him.  
  
"What the fuck is your problem, bitch?"  
  
"Men who steal children."  
  
"You're one crazy bitch." Remi held the gun in a shaking hand, "Stay where you are!"  
  
"What are you gonna do?" She smiled, "shoot me?"  
  
Remi cursed, "You fucking wacko... Stay back!"  
  
She ignored him.  
  
"I'm warning you!"  
  
She kept walking.  
  
His fingers clenched on the trigger and the gun went off.  
  
She staggered but kept coming. He fired again, then again. She didn't stop.  
  
He backed away from her until his back hit the wall, and she stepped right up to him. Her face was less then an inch from his face and she whispered quietly into his ear.  
  
"It sucks to be you, don't it?"  
  
Then her knee came up and slammed into his groin, hard.  
  
Remi crumpled over, moaning and gasping for air as he hit the ground. When he was able to see again there were three people standing over him, looking down on him. They all looked pissed off. Or two of them did. The third guy looked at him with an expressionless face and an odd gleam in his eye that sent shivers down Remi's spine.  
  
"Time for a chat, Remi..."  
  
*****  
  
Later  
  
"Nice place." Draven said, looking at the white mansion.  
  
"Yeah." Hannah growled, "Real nice."  
  
"What now?" Oz asked.  
  
"You should wait here." Eric said, "We'll go in and see what we can find." Oz shook his head, "I'm in all the way on this."  
  
Eric stared at him for a few seconds before nodding. "Fine. Let's go."  
  
*****  
  
Michael Devenport sat back in his chair and frowned at the TV. He'd just received a message from the guy he'd sent to pick up the little girl. The cops were swarming over the building she'd been held in.  
  
That was a bad blow, it meant he'd have to cancel the order or find a new girl fast.  
  
He picked up his phone and was about to make a call when the intruder alarm went off. He hit the number for the security office.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"Sir, please stay in your office... we have three intruders who just cleared the fence."  
  
"Well get them!"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
*****  
  
"They're over there!" The Security guard ran around a corner looking for the shadow they had been chasing.  
  
He stopped and looked around, "What the fuck?"  
  
Suddenly a face popped down from above him, "Peek-a-boo!"  
  
"AAHH!" The guard jumped.  
  
Draven knocked him on the head with a light tap, "Yoo hoo... anyone home?"  
  
"Jesus! You're fucked up!"  
  
Draven dropped to the ground, and grinned. "Maybe... but's haven't you heard? Thats the in thing today..."  
  
The guard lifted his gun up and Draven moved like lighting, flooring the guard with a spin kick and a leg sweep. When the guard hit the ground, Draven leaned over him and looked at the man's pained eyes. "You ok?"  
  
The guard nodded a little blearily.  
  
Draven grinned, "Too bad," and knocked the guards head against the ground once. The lights went out.  
  
*****  
  
Two guards chased a figure into the pool area, and then lost track of it. "What the fuck?"  
  
"Ummm..." A voice sounded from behind them. The spun around and looked at a young man standing casually behind them. "You looking for someone?"  
  
The guards approached him cautiously, their hands on their pistols. "Who are you?"  
  
The man put his hands up, "Me? I'm no one... It's her you should worry about."  
  
"Her?"  
  
"Me." The voice came from behind them and they both instinctively spun toward the noise.  
  
Hannah caught them in mid swing and literally knocked their heads together. As the two men stumbled apart, dazed, she punched the closest in the nose, then grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head down into her knee. He dropped like a stone.  
  
She turned around and saw Oz catch the other one with a powerful haymaker that dropped the guard in one shot.  
  
Hannah smiled, "Nice shot."  
  
Oz shrugged, "After vampires, humans aren't a real challenge."  
  
"Vampires?"  
  
"Later." Oz walked toward the mansion.  
  
Hannah thought about it, then shrugged and followed Oz.  
  
*****  
  
Michael clicked the phone several times, but couldn't get a hold of the security office. He looked around a bit nervously, then dialed 911.  
  
"911 emergency, what is the problem?"  
  
"Someone broke into my home." "What is your address, Sir?"  
  
"448 Shire road."  
  
"Please stay on the phone while I send a squad car."  
  
Michael looked around, "Hurry."  
  
He was still on the phone when a tapping came at his window. "I hear something at the window..."  
  
"Sir, please stay away from the window... Sir? Sir?"  
  
Michael stepped over to the window and looked out. Nothing. He opened the window and looked down on his backyard pool. Nothing.  
  
He backed up, then heard another noise. He stepped closer to the window again and suddenly jumped as a man swung in and casually sat crosslegged on the ledge. "Hey, mind if I come in?"  
  
Michael didn't answer.  
  
"Thanks." The man grinned and walked in. He picked up the phone and listened in.  
  
"Sir? Sir? Are you all right?"  
  
"Oh he's fine..." The man said into the phone, "He won't be soon though..."  
  
"Who is this?"  
  
"Good bye." Draven hung up the phone.  
  
"Who... who are you?"  
  
Draven just grinned at him and walked across the room, casually opening the door.  
  
Waiting on the other side were a man and a woman, who stared at Michael grimly as they walked in.  
  
"You have to pardon my friends..." Draven smiled, "They just have no sense of humor..."  
  
"What do you people want?"  
  
Hannah walked up to him, her hand brushing lightly against his chest until it reached his tie. Then she grabbed and twisted, as he choked she leaned in and whispered harshly in his face. "I want to know how you were going to move the girl." "W... what girl?"  
  
"Wrong answer." Hannah growled as she pun around and tossed the man against the window. She rushed over to him before he could move and shoved him halfway out. "Care to play again?"  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about!" He tried to insiste, but suddenly found himself sliding off the second story window ledge, only a very slim girl between him and the tiled surface below.  
  
"Strike two..." Called a male voice from behind her, sounding bored.  
  
He slid a little bit more and suddenly broke. "Alright alright! I'll tell you!"  
  
The woman pulled him up easily and grinned evilly at him, "Now was that so hard?"  
  
Michael swallowed.  
  
"So talk." the white faced man said.  
  
Michael didn't see an option. He talked.  
  
*****  
  
Oz, Draven, and Hannah walked out of the house calmly. In the distance they could hear sirens blaring. Draven dialed a number on his cell phone as they got into the van and drove off.  
  
"Darrell, Eric. Yeah... it's done. You might want to check out a report of a break in on Shire road... yeah, you might find some interesting things in an upstairs closet... yeah. See you tomorrow. Bye."  
  
Eric closed the phone and looked back at Talon. "So, now you know. What are you going to do about it?"  
  
Talon closed her eyes, "I'm going to Toronto."  
  
*****  
  
"You're leaving?"  
  
Oz shrugged, "Gig was almost up."  
  
"I could get it extended..." Draven offered.  
  
Oz shook his head, "No. I think I'll go with Hannah."  
  
Eric laughed, "Good luck. She's a lady on a mission, man."  
  
Oz shrugged again, "There are worse missions."  
  
"True." Eric extended his hand and Oz clasped it, "Good luck, man."  
  
Oz nodded, "You too."  
  
Eric nodded, "Hannah's packing her stuff at her place. You'd better hurry up."  
  
Oz nodded and closed the door to the van and started it. He waved to Draven as to drove away from the Blackout.  
  
*****  
  
"What are you doing here?" Hannah asked Oz as he got out of the still running van.  
  
"Thought you might like some company."  
  
"You thought wrong."  
  
Oz shrugged, "Ever been to Toronto?"  
  
She shook her head, "Why?"  
  
"I have."  
  
Hannah looked at him oddly and he shrugged, "I did a gig in a nightclub up there."  
  
"You know your way around?"  
  
"Some. Enough."  
  
She growled. "All right. You can come along."  
  
Oz smiled, and dead panned, "Thanks."  
  
She actually smiled at him slightly as she pushed her small bike around to the back of the van. "So you gonna give a lady a hand?"  
  
Oz didn't answer, he just moved over and helped her manhandle the bike into the van. Then the two of them got into the front and Oz started the van. A few minutes later found them on the freeway, heading North.  
  
***** Toronto  
  
"I thought you said you knew your way around!?"  
  
Oz shrugged, "Sue me."  
  
Hannah looked over at him with a growl, "I'm dead, remember? I don't use lawyers... Kicking your ass might be an option though. I thought you did a 'gig' up here?"  
  
"I did..." Oz said, looking around for street signs, "We spent two nights here."  
  
"Two nights!?" Hannah looked over at him, "That's it?"  
  
"More than you."  
  
Hannah just growled and folded her arms over her chest.  
  
Oz looked over at her, "Why?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Why are you after these guys?"  
  
Hannah's face closed up a little. "They're crooks."  
  
"Plenty of crooks in Chicago."  
  
She was silent for a time. "They're kidnappers."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So, you know what I am?"  
  
"A little."  
  
"I was killed... I came back for revenge."  
  
"You were killed by kidnappers?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Oz could tell by her voice that there was more to it. "What else?"  
  
Hannah glared at the windshield for a long moment. "My son."  
  
Oz nodded but remained silent.  
  
"They left us to die. No food, no water. I was stronger then my son... I... I had to..." She closed her eyes as flashes of memories burned into her mind.  
  
"Watch." Oz said quietly, "You had to watch."  
  
He could see Hannah's head nodded painfully, his knuckles whitening as his grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Ok."  
  
She looked over at him, her eyes still filled with pain, but also curious. "Ok?"  
  
He nodded, "Ok. We'll get these bastards."  
  
*****  
  
7th Precinct, Toronto  
  
"Hey Kermit," Peter Caine walked into the small office and grabbed a seat by his friend, "You find anything on that white slavery ring?"  
  
The man in the chair looked over at him through thick, green, sunglasses and shook his head. "Not a damned think, Pete. They've got their tracks covered by pros."  
  
"Damn." Peter muttered, "You know if we don't get something on this group fast the Captain is going to rip me a new..."  
  
"A new what, Detective Caine?"  
  
Peter winced and turned around, "Nothing Captain... nothing at all."  
  
"Figures." The red headed woman smirked at him, "Now get back to work... before I do that nothing you weren't thinking about."  
  
As she left Kermit grinned at Peter, "You want some salt for that foot?"  
  
"Shut up." Peter growled, "I'm going to Chinatown..."  
  
"Wait... Don't tell me," Kermit grinned wide, "Ask for Caine... He will help."  
  
Peter grimaced at the other cop and left. "Wise ass."  
  
Kermit grinned and turned back to his computer. "Come on you little devil... I know you're in here somewhere... come to daddy..."  
  
*****  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
"Chinatown."  
  
Hannah looked over at Oz, her eyes flashing. "How the hell did we get to Chinatown? We're looking for the docks."  
  
"No, we're not. We're looking for some help."  
  
"Help?" She looked confused, "Who the hell is going to help us here?"  
  
Oz smiled, remembering the last thing Giles had told him before he left Sunnydale. "Go to Chinatown, ask for Caine... He will help you."  
  
"What are you babbling about?"  
  
Oz just smiled and pulled into a small lot. He parked the van and climbed out. "Come on. I have to get this done, then we'll find your kidnappers."  
  
Hannah growled, "Fine."  
  
*****  
  
The two wandered down the street, with Oz occasionally stopping to ask for directions.  
  
"Excuse me? Where can I find... Caine?"  
  
Whenever he would ask the person would smile and point him along. Before long he was standing outside a small building that the last person had pointed him toward.  
  
"This is it?"  
  
Oz nodded.  
  
"We going inside?"  
  
Oz took a breath and nodded. "Let's go."  
  
*****  
  
Kwai Chang Caine looked up as the door to his small Dojo opened. He paused as he felt the life forces... life force of the two people who entered. One of them was powerful, but had no aura of life around her. He shivered at the cold chill that came from her, not an evil feeling but one that reminded him of the pure winds of the Arctic.  
  
The boy had a very powerful chi. But his life force was twisted, infected by a foreign energy. Caine drew in a slow breath, he knew the cause of the boy's problem. The woman, was something new to him, though.  
  
"Welcome." He greeted the two with a slight bow.  
  
The boy returned the bow, "Are you Master Caine?"  
  
"I am."  
  
"I was told that you might be able to help me."  
  
"I might."  
  
Oz nodded and stepped forward, "I'm a..."  
  
"I know." Caine said softly, "I know what you seek, and I might be able to help."  
  
Oz waited.  
  
"You will be required to work very hard."  
  
"I'm willing."  
  
Caine nodded, "Yes... I can see that."  
  
The he turned, as if the matter were settled, and looked at Hannah. "And you?"  
  
"I don't need anything."  
  
Caine smiled, "Perhaps..."  
  
Peter barged in the door at that moment, "Pop, I need your help..."  
  
Caine laughed softly, only the barest hint of exhaled air being heard, "And perhaps the help you need is seeking you."  
  
*****  
  
"Pop?" Peter Caine looked around, a little confused. He didn't recognize either of the people in his father Dojo, which wasn't odd in itself but something about the woman was giving him goosebumps along the back of his neck. "You ok?"  
  
Oz noticed the man's hand resting along his belt, waiting for Kwai Chang Caine to speak.  
  
"I'm fine, Peter."  
  
Peter let himself relax slightly, his hand slipping away from his gun, but moved to a position where he could watch both of his father's guests.  
  
Caine turned toward Hannah, "I believe you have something to say?"  
  
Hannah looked at him, her eyes narrowing. "Why do you say that?"  
  
The Priest shrugged slowly, "You came to Chinatown on a mission."  
  
Peter looked at the woman curiously. "What mission?"  
  
"I didn't say that!" Hannah protested, "I don't have any mission."  
  
Caine smiled, "We all have a mission... Yours is simply bared to the eyes around you."  
  
"Stop talking like that!" Hannah backed up a step, "I'm out of here."  
  
Oz laid a hand on her arm, "Wait."  
  
He turned and looked at the young man who had come in, "You're a cop?"  
  
Peter raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Yeah..."  
  
Oz nodded, "Tell him, Hannah."  
  
She shook her head, "No way. This is my 'mission'. I'm not turning it over to some tight ass idiot who couldn't find..."  
  
Peter cut her off, "Whoa! Hey, slow down! You don't know me! So ease up on the insults."  
  
Hannah glared at him, "Cops are useless. They couldn't save me or my..."  
  
Oz stepped up beside her, "Hannah."  
  
"What!?"  
  
"Sometimes... you have to trust someone."  
  
Hannah glared at him as well, then turned on her heel and started to walk out the door.  
  
"If you don't tell them..." Oz said quietly, "I will." She stopped, her hand on the door, and stood still for a long time. Finally she turned back, looking at Oz with cold eyes. "Fine. You win."  
  
*****  
  
"Wait a minute..." Peter protested slightly, "You're here to track down a group that sells kidnapped children?"  
  
Oz and Hannah nodded.  
  
Peter shook his head and glared at his father. "Do you have a bat signal on the roof of this place or something?"  
  
"I... do not think so."  
  
"Then how come every time I come here you're knee deep in something that I'm working on at the precinct?"  
  
Caine shrugged, slowly, deliberately. "Dumb luck?"  
  
Oz let out a very small laugh.  
  
Peter heard it, "What do you find so funny?"  
  
Oz shrugged, slowly, deliberately. "Have a friend with your father's sense of humor."  
  
Peter groaned. "Great. Like I need to know that there are more then one of them out there!"  
  
"I should very much like to meet your friend one day," Caine said with a small smile.  
  
Peter groaned. "God save me." Then turned back to Hannah, trying to get things back on track. "How did you know where to come?"  
  
Hannah frowned, "We rescued a little girl in Chicago a couple nights ago. After that we started tracking back up the pipeline. First to the courier, then the local buyer, now we're looking for the distributer."  
  
Peter nodded, "That fits with what we've been trying to dig up on these Slavers... They bring in victims, usually women and children, from all over the continent. Slip them across the border from the states cause it's easily done, and then ship them out of the country. Problem is they are adept at hiding their tracks."  
  
Hannah shrugged, "We have a name and number for a contact here in Toronto."  
  
"How sure are you of your information." Hannah smiled, "Oh, he wasn't lying... I'm sure of that"  
  
*****  
  
Kermit walked into the Dojo tentatively, not really sure what to expect. The call from Pete wasn't exactly packed with information. "Yo Pete!?"  
  
He looked around, Pete, His father, and two others were in the room. Kermit glanced the other two over and almost dismissed them, until something about the way they both stood set him on edge. They weren't pros... that much was certain, but they were watching him like he was a potential threat.  
  
Interesting. Kermit smiled and wondered how Pete had come across these two. He looked at the young detective and grinned, "So, what's the what?"  
  
Peter grimaced slightly, "These two have a lead on the slavers."  
  
Kermit dropped his sunglasses a bit and looked at the couple over the top of the frames. "Why am I not surprised?"  
  
Caine shrugged, and Peter just looked the other way.  
  
"Never mind." Kermit muttered, "What have you got?" He directed the question to the couple.  
  
"A name and a contact number for the end receiver here in Toronto."  
  
"Cool." Kermit smiled. "Now *that* is something I can sink my modem into."  
  
*****  
  
Office Building, Downtown Toronto  
  
"This is the place?" Peter looked up at the skyscraper from where he was leaning against his car.  
  
Kermit nodded from the other side of the vehicle. "Uh huh."  
  
"What's in this place?"  
  
"The Corporate offices of, get this," Kermit grinned, "Teng Lath Industries."  
  
Peter shook his head, "Never heard of it."  
  
"Thought you'd say that... but you might know the President of Teng Lath. Bon Bon Hai."  
  
"Son of a..." Peter cursed.  
  
"Who's Bon Bon Hai?"  
  
Peter glanced back to where the cold faced young woman was staring at him. "He runs the rackets in Chinatown... Took over after my father took down Tan."  
  
"I see." Hannah looked up at the building, "So, what are we waiting for? Let's go in there and toss him out his office window."  
  
Peter stared at her in shock and Kermit chuckled. "I like the way the little lady thinks."  
  
"Shut up, Kermit... Don't encourage her." Peter growled, "And you! Get back in the car. Now."  
  
Hannah smiled at him, sending a chill up his spine, but got back in the car calmly. She looked over at where Oz was sitting peacefully in the back of the car and smiled again, "Tonight."  
  
Oz shrugged. "Cool."  
  
*****  
  
Caine's Dojo  
  
"Why are we back here?" Hannah hissed at Oz as they walked in to the large room.  
  
Oz shrugged, "I need help from Master Caine."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Oz glanced at her, "I'm a werewolf."  
  
Hannah looked at him in shock, "What?"  
  
"Lets just say, you don't want to be around me for a few nights next week. Full moon."  
  
Hannah stared at him like he was insane. "You... you knew you were coming here?"  
  
Oz nodded, "I was heading for Toronto when I left Sunnydale. I have a friend who recommended Master Caine to me."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Meditations... control... Giles, that's my friend, has some books that suggest that control is possible... He thought that Master Caine could help."  
  
Hannah shrugged, "Whatever. Tonight we deal with this Bon Bon Hai creep."  
  
Oz shrugged. "Cool."  
  
*****  
  
Kermit looked over at Peter as they drove back to the precinct. "What's on your mind, Pete?"  
  
Peter stared at the road, "What makes you think something on my mind?"  
  
"Other then the way you looked at that woman and her friend?"  
  
"Something about her bugs me, Kermit. I just can't put my finger on it."  
  
Kermit nodded, "Yeah... She carries herself strange..."  
  
Peter looked over, "what do you mean?"  
  
"She walks like a fighter... but she's got no discipline... no hint of learning... it's weird."  
  
Peter nodded. He had been running on a gut instinct, but Kermit had just put some of what he felt into words. "Yeah... But there's still something else... I get a chill when I get close to her..."  
  
Kermit lowered his sunglasses and looked over, "What? You mean in a Shaolin way?"  
  
Peter just nodded.  
  
"Damn." Kermit sat back, "Well... Your dad seems to like them..."  
  
Peter nodded, "Yeah... there is that."  
  
The two police officers drove to the precinct in silence.  
  
***** 


End file.
